I think of the three or so plantation tours I've done in New Orleans, this has been my favorite…read more The grounds, while very comprehensive and complete, are not the fanciest (a la Southern Oaks Plantation). However, the tour itself is the very very best. I had a local native, Renee, as my tour guide, and she is an 18-year veteran at giving the tours. Since it's just her, they only offer Mon-Sat 11:30 and 2pm tours. (She gets a little half hour lunch break in there.) + Experienced local guide + Tour includes Creole era (1700s French/German), Antebellum era (Louisiana purchase/slaves/America), post-war through Great Depression, after the Great Depression (restoration of house and grounds) + Comprehensive grounds with the original slave quarters, kitchen, garconnieres, pidgeon houses, 1900s boxwood gardens, Creole interior, and Greek Revival exterior + Owner cares for main house and is an avid period furniture collector + Senior discounts - Cash only - Limited tours (11:30am, 2pm, no Sundays) Renee is half Creole and half American. To me, it was always hard to understand what is a Creole vs. a Cajun or American. She does a great job of explaining it all: the relevant time periods, the change in ownership, the architectural and garden additions, the functions and placements of the various buildings, and even the difference in slave treatment during the Creole vs Antebellum periods. You can take pictures everywhere except the interior of the house, as it is still in use by the owner. As a history buff and a little bit of a school nerd, this was by far my favorite plantation tour in the Vacherie region.

Very educational visit. The premises is stunning. The house itself is so beautiful. 2 reasons why…read morewe stopped by 1.) It was in the movie Django and Antebellum. 2.) It is on the way to Oak Alley plantation from New Orleans. This place too had an alley that had lined Oak trees. Tickets must be reserved online. It is great to know that your ticket prices goes to restoring the place and for maintenance on the property. Definitely a must go. Highly recommend to others.

What a great place! The guy giving the presentation gave a great theory why the 1811 revolt…read moreactually happened. Which is nice since the history at that time was written from the white perspective, and not from those who actually participated in the revolt. Great place to visit. I recommend for everyone. Reasonably priced, well organized. This is a small place, with little focus on the owners of the house, but what has happened here as far as the slave revolt goes. And then the influence on music. Very nice place. There is a handicapped lift.

Visited Laura Plantation on February 28, 2026 and had a really great experience overall…read more Our tour guide, Christine, was fantastic. She was not only very informative but also incredibly kind and personable. She had a way of explaining the history that made the tour feel engaging rather than just a typical scripted presentation. By the end, it almost felt like you were being shown around by a friend rather than just a guide. The tour itself is about 2-3 hours long and involves a fair amount of walking, so I definitely recommend wearing comfortable shoes. One tip: if you're planning to visit and don't have your own vehicle, make sure to purchase the ticket option that includes transportation. It will make things much easier. Also keep in mind that there aren't many food options nearby. Unless you're planning to walk quite a distance, it's a good idea to eat beforehand or plan your meal for after the tour. There's also a small museum on the property that's worth checking out. It's close by and provides additional background and stories that help give more context to the plantation's history. Overall, this was a very informative and meaningful tour, and I would definitely recommend it if you're visiting the area.

I visited Laura Plantation back in June 2017 and thoroughly enjoyed the tour. The architecture of…read morethe buildings and the grounds are lovely. But if you're a history buff, it provides a lot of detail, from the Civil War to the creole plantation owners, and the lives of the enslaved. I found it to be very informative. The plantation is about 1-hour west of New Orleans (good for a day-trip), but it's in the middle of nowhere.

Highly recommend!! A very concise and informative tour. I love that the focus is on the lives on…read morethe enslaved and not the enslavers. Also fun to learn Django Unchained was also filmed here. Gift shop had an Amazing array of Black art, books, clothing and trinkets.

We visited Whitney Plantation with tickets for a guided tour. Our guide, Justin, was engaging,…read moreprofessional, and clearly proud of his heritage, which added depth to the experience. The artwork throughout the site is powerful, and the history is thoughtfully and effectively presented. The plantation house itself was not as grand as expected and appeared less well-maintained. There are also no active fields or crops to explore. Overall, it's a newer experience focused on historical education and reflection.

The Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge still feels like one of those quietly confident pieces of…read moreinfrastructure, a cable stayed design that rises cleanly over the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling with a 1,220 foot main span and an orthotropic deck that helped it earn national engineering honors when it opened in 1983. It was the first cable stayed bridge ever built across the Mississippi and only the third of its kind in the United States, later renamed for Hale Boggs, the longtime Louisiana congressman and House Majority Leader whose support helped bring the project to life before his death. When you cross it today, it sits comfortably alongside other modern cable stayed spans like the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in Missouri https://www.yelp.com/biz/bill-emerson-memorial-bridge-cape-girardeau?hrid=wOk22tiDDdlKU2LajFgdQQ, the Greenville Bridge on US 82 https://www.yelp.com/biz/greenville-bridge-lake-village?hrid=WGXvzX4AagbXz9LLRId8Pg, and the Sunshine Skyway in Florida https://www.yelp.com/biz/sunshine-skyway-bridge-saint-petersburg-2?hrid=cjkaRIWYK1Os9_4UOHRaDg, all part of that late twentieth century shift toward cleaner lines and lighter decks that still feel fresh decades later. Once you're on the bridge, the height gives your passengers a wide sweep of the river and the levees while the driver keeps their eyes on the road, and the geometry of the cables creates a sense of balance that feels almost serene. The parks tucked under the approaches on both sides add to the experience, giving you a place to pause and appreciate how this kind of structure reshapes a parish's daily rhythm and long term growth, and the comparison to its peers only reinforces how well it holds its own. It's impressive without being showy, a bridge that rewards both the quick pass through and the slower, more appreciative visit, and one that still carries the quiet civic pride of the man whose name it bears. [Review 327 of 2026 - 101 in Louisiana - 25514 overall]

What kind of name for a restaurant! What do you do? Order Dinner and go sit on the bridge?…read more Sure did! Nice bridge and nice small town on the river actually it was lunch. I ordered. It was a beautiful day and I ate a roast beef Poboy from the River Road Market nearby. You should try it. Lots of good food and good prices. Actually, the whole area is beautiful. Not just the bridge. By the way, you can't sit on the bridge. It is against the law. After you watched the bridge, go check out the Seafood Pot! Probably the best Seafood in all the area of New Orleans. Seasoned very well and the boiled shrimp are to die for! Check it out if you can.

I went while on vacation with family friends and they had been before. I became a little emotional…read moreupon stepping on to the grounds. But the store had a lot of gift shop items that I believe help maintain the house, buildings, grounds, and pay for staff. We did the tour of the big house and it was so educational. Then we went over to Miss Anne's talk and it was so educational and she interacted with all people in the group. I would like to come back with my family for them to see and listen to all of the history in the items and the stories of the owners and the enslaved. The visit was simply powerful for me to experience as I have family that were enslaved or born free to parents that were enslaved. And I have family that worked plantations in GA in the 1940s and 1950s picking cotton. So this visit really touched me.

On my bucket list for NOLA, I wanted to visit a haunted house. I decided to play it safe and visit…read morea place of historical relevance as well as some documented supernatural activity. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and welcomed our questions as we walked the grounds. We took in the tour and were humbled to learn of the experiences of the different people on the grounds. It's hard to imagine how life was without the many conveniences we now have.

The history of St. Joseph Plantation was very interesting. Wish we had the time to see the sister's…read moreplantation next door. Sylvia was an excellent tour guide and we enjoyed the tour with her.

One of the few fully intact sugar plantations remaining in the river parishes, the descendants of…read morethe second family to have owned this plantation and the neighboring Felicity Plantation still own, operate and maintain both sites. They have just opened the Felicity Plantation for tours, though it's still a work in progress getting it renovated. Both sites are less commercialized than some others in the area. St Joseph does an "in mourning" tours in October, which I hope to come back for. St Joseph Plantation is one of my favorite tours so far. It was just myself and the tour guide. The tour guide (I can't remember her name) is well versed in the genealogy of the families in the area. The tour started with a short video on how sugar cane is processed, planted, harvested and is very interesting. The guide spent a lot of time with me telling me all of the details, answering all of my questions and thoroughly covering every single detail. I really enjoyed this tour. It was also not as white washed as some of the other tours in the area. One of the guides also volunteered to give me a tour of Felicity (after I paid of course) next door. It was also just me and the tour guide on this tour. The downstairs they are making to be like how the house would have been originally and the second floor how the second family would have had it in the mid-20th century. Upstairs they had the top half of what was an elevator they had installed, and I think would make for perfect photo shoots for someone announcing they were coming out of the closet, and where else would be better since that kind of thing was looked down upon even up to the recent past. They are still working on this house, so no photos are allowed inside, but this has been the set of many films. The whole experience was amazing. I suggest both tours if you are in the area for other tours. Make a whole day of it!

This is the bridge I use when making my way to Baton Rouge from down da bayou. If I'm in…read moreThiboudaux, this is the bridge I'll be using. It's a wide lane bridge that is easy to drive on. A spectacular view on the East bank of a red mud covered refinery. It looks like something out of a mad max movie. I don't know much about its history, just that it's historically open every time I need to cross it. Unlike several other bridges I use to get to and fro which seem to be closed periodically. Definitely a plus when you need to get from one side to the other.

Also known as the Gramercy Bridge, this bridge provides lovely views of the Mississippi River. On…read morethe north east side of the bridge is a series of copper brown dirt covered buildings that invokes a scene from a horror movie in my mind. A small unmarked cemetery on the south west side of the bridge near a sugar cane field invokes the horrors that could happen while working the fields and the dangers that could happen. The bridge itself is a reminder of the dangers of the river and the accidents that could occur. The bridge seems to be safe and stable, but the accidents of nearby rural life are all about.

Francis -Parkinson Keyes, one of my favorite authors lived here so we always pay homage on a trip…read more it never gets old. Built in 1926, This architectural treasure is an outstanding example of a raised center hall villa and includes both Creole and American features in an elaborately detailed residence. BK House's diverse history includes the stories of those who both lived and labored here for nearly 200 years. Originally owned by Ursuline nuns and subsequently occupied by PT Beauregard and Francis- Parkinson Keyes. FPK also wrote a novel called The Chess Players, based on chess champion Paul Morphy, who was also the grandson of the original owner of the house, LeCarpentier.(A great book). Our first tour a few years ago was just us and the docent. There was an ermine cape as worn by FPK and I tried it on. It fit perfectly. Another Urban gem in New Orleans.

The BK Historic House and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark built in 1826 and restored to its…read morepresent condition by renowned author Frances Parkinson Keyes beginning in 1948. It is an example of a raised Creole cottage and is lovingly cared for by the Keyes Foundation. Reasonable admission price, the tours start every hour on the hour. You are not allowed inside to wait more than 10-15 minutes before the tour begins, so be aware of that during the hot summer months. This is well worth the stop if you are in the area. It is located in the French Quarter, but off the beaten path.